God Called In Sick Today
by Somerandomuser
Summary: Slash. Albus and Scorpius are ready to come out. Unfortunately the rest of the world is ready to come undone. As a new war readies to spread itself across the Wizarding World, Potters, Weasleys and Malfoys are forced into a shaky alliance. N.B.O.T.
1. Prologue

**Prologue: Let's Amend the Classic Story**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, or most of the characters noted within this. Nor do I own anything related to the song God Called In Sick Today by AFI. **

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_August 1st_

Harry stepped out into the middle of Diagon Alley, his wand at the ready. The three forms, obscured by relatively new blurring charms, were on the run. The sounds of apparition had alerted them to aurors arriving. George's shop, which Harry had chosen as his apparition spot, burnt behind him. Smoke billowed out of the doorway he had just blasted clear.

He caught whispers of pale blonde hair in one particular blur. The emergency report three hours ago had been completely right. Lucius Malfoy had escaped Azkaban and he seemed to have brought friends with him. Harry cursed. Shackelbolt's hands were tied, but he should have known the Dementors would turn on them again. What the man had been thinking trusting them again, Harry would never know. Quite possibly they would have a long and angry discussion after this.

"_Stupefy_," he yelled, pointing his wand at the form he dared to believe was Lucius. The blur spun, making it all the harder to make out body parts. A shield spell rose up to meet his own and the stunner shattered against it. That was Harry's cue. He took off, in hot pursuit of the three escaping forms. Quickly, though, he found out that there were more than three enemies present.

A golden light came from a window at a nearby apothecary, the first apothecary to open up and try to compete with Pardon's since it had moved into the alley years ago. It clipped him on the shoulder, sending a jolt from the point of impact into him. The pain shot straight across his body and into the other shoulder, where a brother pain began to grow. He turned and fired a jinx on reaction, bringing his wand around mid-spell to the window where he thought he saw movement.

The spell soared through the open window and struck the wall behind it. Cursing, Harry kept his eye on the shop as he backed up to get behind an old wooden cart that was used during the day to sell fruits as snacks to hungry shoppers. It wasn't much cover, but it might hold out for a second or two.

Before he could get to cover, though, another one of those spells pegged him in the back, this time from another building. To his sudden fear, it occurred to him he was surrounded. Harry closed his eyes, brought his wand up and produced a long whip of flame from it which he swung out toward a movement he caught out of the corner of his eye.

The flame whip touched and then disintegrated a flyer that had been caught by the breeze. All at once, as if this were a cue, these strange spells he had never encountered before began to fly at him. He did as best he could, moving and spinning and swinging this whip out, trying desperately to block the spells. This was not right. Somehow he had managed to become surrounded by a force of at least eight wizards.

Surely they would have made some noise; surely they would have given themselves away. Feeling his strength start to wave, he cracked the whip outward, toward a window he saw one of the spells coming from. A guttural cry of agony ripped through the air. He'd finally gotten one, and this whip was no light spell to be touched with. The pain had started to gather together within him though, until he felt like he was being stabbed from multiple angles.

He, Harry Potter, the head auror had managed to walk into a trap.

Harry slowly started to gather, even when a spell got through the wall he was attempting to make out of his thin whip, the positions of his attackers. He would strike again and again at open windows or doorways. Once in a while, he would hear the cry that suggested he had hit someone. However many times he stung at the same person, though, they never seemed to stop attacking. The more time progressed, the better they became about avoiding the whip. Soon enough he wasn't hitting anyone, and each time he would progress deeper into the alley for a new bit of cover, they would follow, somehow moving from building to building without coming out onto the street. Either that, or there were just that many of them.

There were too many. He could feel his strength beginning to lag.

"I've got you, Potter," cried a new voice, one he was relaxed and pleased to hear. Light flared up around him and he covered his eyes against it. All spellcasting seemed to stop. A hand touched his arm and suddenly he was moving. Squeezed through what he still equated to small tubes, pushed along by some invisible force like water through pipes, Harry waited for the ride to be over.

When finally he found himself in a muggle alley not far from the Ministry of Magic, Harry allowed himself to collapse backwards against a wall.

"Well," he said. "Looks like I've blown it this time." Now it was the Minister who would likely be mad at _him._

_September 1st _

I woke with a sudden jerk and rolled over in my bed. By the time I realized my mistake, it was all I could do not to roll out of it. Feeling knots inside my stomach I looked up and out of the window, knowing already what I would see. The sun had risen on September 1st. It was the morning I had been dreading and anticipating.

I rolled over to my table where a small muggle book lay and propped it open to the first page. Before groping for the drawer, I brushed my red hair away from my eyes. I pulled a quill and ink from my bedside table's drawer and began to write. Shakily at first and then more clearly, thoughts began to form.

_I'm nervous this morning, almost instantly. This is it. This is the beginning of my fourth year. This is the year everything will change. This is the year I will tell everyone the truth… no all of the truths. _

_I'm absolutely terrified too. _

_That's something, isn't it?_

_Every one of my three names represents a different hero from the last war. _

_Albus Dumbledore was the temporarily defamed and at one time almost _worshiped _headmaster of Hogwarts, whose name was dragged through the mud upon his death. Thought to be the third greatest wizard to ever live. He defeated Lord Grindelwald and was as aunt Hermione says, "The Embodiment of Gryffindor Courage." _

_Potter, for my father. Some people say he has to be the second greatest wizard of all time, second only to Merlin. An ex-Quidditch star for a brief run and the victor over Lord Voldemort. Father says there used to be plenty less embarrassing titles for him used in Hogwarts. No matter how embarrassing they were, he says, it wasn't as bad as what they call him now. _

_But believe it or not, I'm more interested in my middle namesake. _

_Severus, for Severus Snape, the unsung guardian of the children of Hogwarts. He recently got awarded Order of Merlin first class, though long after his death. Something of my father's doing, I think. He was father's old Potions teacher not to mention he was a former student and then Head of Slytherin house, and briefly Headmaster under Voldemort's regime. He had been working to undermine Voldemort from the inside out. _

_The focus here, is Slytherin. Like me. _

_Cunning, brilliant, sly, and self-preserving. These are the _nice_ descriptions people give my house. And I don't blame them either. There are some real jerks in that house, really twisted people. People who I wouldn't be shocked to see carry on the mantle of the Dark Wizards of my father's childhood._

_But amidst every bad batch of apples, there are good seeds. There are some decent enough folk in Slytherin, but we're vaguely outnumbered and naturally keep our nonconforming points of view to ourselves. _

_I kind of wish I was able to change that. I sometimes dream of people recognizing Slytherin isn't a label that means evil. _

_Speaking of dreams, I don't know why I have dreams of the past… why can't I have pointless dreams like everyone else, instead of reliving that night? It didn't turn out to be a bad night, but at the time it was the night I thought my life was coming to an ugly turn. It was the first night of the rest of my life. It was the night… I met him. _

_I felt odd around my siblings and cousin. As such, I didn't particularly want to find a compartment with them, I guess. As an incoming first year though, I didn't really have anyone else to sit with. I found an empty car in the middle of the train and took it, sliding the door shut behind me and pulling the curtain down over the glass. I fully intended to go to sleep on my way there, I think. I was so scared that I don't know how I thought I could sleep. _

_I was too nervous._

_I had been told several times, that I was quite the little Slytherin as a child. Mostly this was Uncle Ron. He didn't mean it offensively as some people thought when they heard this. He was calling me cunning, I think, but being playful about it. I was a smart enough kid, but not brilliant. I'm still not brilliant. I knew how to calculate, how to plan and I'm still decent at it, I guess. I just can't conquer my own problems with this skill. Still, I was afraid that if I was sorted into Slytherin, James would give me hell about it. _

_So anyway, I was sitting alone and fully intending to go to sleep when, just after the train began moving, I heard a commotion in the hallway. I let the flap of the curtain up and looked out of the glass to see the form of someone my age, being pushed around none-too-lightly by an older child that my brother had called Goyle on the platform. He was big, and by big, I mean fat, round and almost visibly thick in the head._

_The younger boy, I couldn't see him too well. I knew that he was pinned against a wall. The sounds of their voices reached my ears. _

_"Your father is the washed up heir to a washed up family, and has no business interfering with my father's work!" _

_"Maybe if your father wasn't scum," the child replied, with a sharp tone, "he wouldn't have to." _

_I saw the punch, saw it miss as the first year ducked and wriggled free with a well placed kick to the groin. Goyle howled in pain, and just as he lunged at the first year, I felt something in the back of my head call me forward. I opened the door quickly, drew my wand, and cast. _

_"_Relashio_," The spell shot out, in this form, a thin jet of sparks. Which missed. Completely. _

_A moment later another boy came running down the hall, wearing the robes of a Gryffindor. I recognized him as my cousin Fred. "Hey, Goyle. _STUPEFY_!"_

_A loud thump rang out as the fat oaf hit the floor, and I pulled my head—and the first year—into the car as quick as possible, so that Fred never saw me. With any luck he thought Scorpio did it. _

_That's right. _

_The first year looked up at me after I tugged him in, as he fell back onto one of the seats. He was very clearly Scorpio Malfoy. I didn't know his name at the time, of course. I don't know, really, what made him stay around. He could have quietly thanked me and left. But as soon as his wits were recovered, he just sighed, leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes, thanking me, and asking my name. _

_"Albus," I said, feeling surprisingly relieved to be having a discussion. "What about you?" _

_"Scorpio," the boy replied, opening and for the first time hitting me with the full effect of his sharp grey eyes. "Thank you, again." _

_"I didn't do anything," I replied, feeling a mixture of amusement and anxiousness. _

_Scorpio tilted his blonde head in question. "I missed," I finished, suddenly embarrassed. "My cousin Fred got 'im." _

_"Still… you tried to help me," he grunted, now showing visible pain as he worked his shoulder. "I owe you…."_


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Hidden so Shamefully**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Harry Potter, or most of the characters noted within this. Nor do I own anything related to the song God Called In Sick Today by AFI.**

* * *

Harry leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the desk and putting his face in his hands. His stomach was loudly decrying the lack of breakfast or lunch, which he supposed was a step up from days when he couldn't bare to think of eating. Still, he felt like he might be getting to the end of the rope already. Here it was, September 1st, and instead of standing on the platform with his wife, he was behind this bloody desk.

He had to admit, though, that at the very least he felt a whole hell of a lot more stable than usual. The quill didn't shake in his hands as he used it to focus his wandering eyes on the text in front of him. He knocked over no piles of parchment or inkwells and it hadn't taken him very long to tie the letter to the Minister of Magic to the owl this morning before he came in to work.

Still, this was decidedly the last place he wanted to be. What kind of father was he becoming? He'd never missed a September 1st before. His cold fingers trailed down his face lightly, and then he brought his hands back down. It wouldn't do to continue reading. Besides, it was too late. Even if he got to an apparition point now, by the time he reached the platform they'd be on the train.

Harry clenched his fist. He was only making things worse by wasting so much time. After closing his eyes briefly Harry felt better, a little. He opened them and was just about to set to work reading the most recent report on his desk when a knock came on the door.

"Come in," he replied, reigning in his emotions as much as possible, forcefully. Too bad he never learned Occlumency. The door opened to reveal one of his many underlings. "Ah, Auror Macmillian." Ernie had, for whatever reason, retaken OWLs and NEWTs a few years ago, and had, as a result, ended up working under Harry. Harry had almost been reassured to know that the man had barely changed at all. "Come on in."

"I've just finished interrogating Malfoy, I turned up some information that might be of consequence," Ernie replied quietly, right to the point. He waited in Harry's doorway. "I was just letting you know so you knew why the report was going to be late. I'll be getting on that now."

"The hell you will," Harry replied. "It's time for lunch. Go eat." He looked down and back to the report already on his desk. Perhaps it would have shocked him to find the word 'pompous' running through his employee's mind as a descriptor for him. He surely didn't notice Ernie shaking his head in a grinning sort of disbelief.

"Of course, Auror Potter. The report will be on your desk by this evening."

"Very good," he replied. He was not being dismissive of the person, precisely, but of the subject. Most of his employees could tell the difference. This was good because there were times he just _had_ to dismiss a subject. As soon as the man had left the doorway, Harry dropped all pretext of focusing on the parchment in front of him.

Reaching into a drawer on the desk, he pulled out a vial. With a brief glance at the label, Harry uncorked it and drained it before leaning back in the chair. The day had barely begun and he already felt like hell.

~GCiST~

I sat down beside him on the train, shutting the blinds on the door of our particular compartment. I nodded to the curled up form of Lily. My little sister was the only one in Hogwarts or out of it who had any inkling that Scorpius and I were anything more than friends. She was currently lying down on the seat across from the one Scorpius and I shared due to having not slept at all the night before.

She hadn't slept the night before the Hogwarts Express pulled away from London and I had tried to figure out why countless times. In the end, I could only assume it was excitement, excitement which had obviously crashed by the time she actually got _on _the train. If the prior year was any indicator—she had done the same thing then—I expected she would be unconscious within the next few minutes.

The train began to move. This usually lead to a fair amount of cheer from Scorpius and myself, but today we were quiet and we both knew why. Had Lily not been half unconscious, I'm sure she'd want to know too. If she had asked, I guess I would've just told her to go to sleep, that she'd figure it out when we got to Hogwarts. It didn't occur to me that maybe I ought to warn her ahead of time in case people from her House started to whisper, embarrassing her.

In a few short hours, Lily would probably turn the same red our mother could when she was embarrassed or angry or worried or happy, or… just about anything. Our mother blamed it on her side of the family. Not that it wasn't obvious to begin with which side of my family had the tendency to turn the shade of an apple with little provocation. I only needed to look at Uncle Ron when Aunt Hermione got onto him about something he hadn't expected her to find out about. Still, I loved my family dearly and I wouldn't know what to do without them.

I just had enough time to turn to face the still silent Scorpius when it hit me that I hadn't thought about how my family would react. Uncle Ron's surprise when I'd come out Slytherin, as he'd jokingly predicted, had been clear to me on my first year's Christmas Break, when he pulled me aside and made me swear that I understood he'd only been kidding about what he said on the platform to Rose. I couldn't tell how much was _his _guilt or how much was guilt that my aunt had put into him. Still, how would he, or my mother and father react when the found out? How about my older brother, or Teddy? What about Fred or Uncle George? I didn't even want to think about how to explain _that_ to my grandparents, not that they'd be anything but understanding, but it was _so awkward_.

Even if they could accept that their son was a faggot, there was one other little problem. Despite my nigh on four year friendship—and more recently a little more than that—with Scorpius, we'd been in the same area as all of our parents only once, an accidental encounter before our first year. Mum and Dad didn't say much, but I know from more than one rant out of my uncle's mouth that they didn't think much of Scorpius' father. In fact, I think if he could my uncle would challenge the man to a duel and beg my dad to be his second.

It had been two hours before he looked up from the book in his hands, the title of which was obscured. Whether this was by charm or whether the prescription on my muggle contacts had begun failing me, I wasn't entirely sure. Lily had fallen asleep some time around an hour ago and I had covered her with a small blanket she had had since Christmas Break last year, claiming that the Dorms were too cold for her. I waited for him to say his first words since we'd met up on the platform two hours ago. He pulled off his black jacket and dropped it on the floor of the compartment, not wanting to stand up and pack it up yet. Then he turned to me and did something that made me smile.

His left hand slid into my right, our fingers intertwining. I could tell he wanted to say something, but until he found the words, this was enough. It wasn't that Scorpius was shy or unsure of himself. Oh no, I'd had no delusions of that since the day I first met him. It was just that when he got to thinking too much about something which made him nervous, he became quiet and tried to look at every possible angle of the situation.

Judging by the last letter he'd sent me two days ago, he'd been examining this situation for nearly a week. This was both reassuring and nerve-racking because it was rare he took a long time deciding anything when it related to us. If he backed out now, my courage would waver. I wouldn't be able to convince him to go with the plan and I didn't know when I'd have the courage to try again.

"We'll give them something to talk about over the feast then," he finally said, releasing my hand to lean back in his seat. His hand promptly rested itself upon mine on the seat between us. It was a subtle thing, just one of the many things about us that were so subtle. His eyes slid closed for a moment, and he breathed deeply.

"Let's tell a story," he suggested, proposing a simple game we often played to fill the ride on Hogwarts Express. His face was not overly expressive, which for him was strange. He wore his emotions on his sleeve and didn't give a damn who saw them. I was similar, though without the not giving a damn. I had to assume that he, like Lily, was tired.

"Alright," I replied, smiling out my sense of relief, hoping he could feel how happy I was at the moment. "When you feel like it, you sleep, alright?"

"No way, you shouldn't have to ride all the way to Hogwarts by yourself," even as he said this, it came out at a half mumble. His eyes drooped sleepily as he nestled a bit more into his seat.

"And do you think," I replied quietly, "that you can go through with this half dead on your feet? Besides, I reckon I can stand reading up on my Arithmancy." After a few seconds of silent contemplation Scorpius nodded and shifted to lean his head against the glass beside him. Sighing exasperatedly, I drew my wand. His eyes opened the slightest bit more, as if determined to stay awake and see what I was doing. I flexed the wand at the door and whispered a locking charm and a small alarm spell. When you lived with James, you learned to guard against invasions on your privacy.

"Come on," I said, reaching out and seizing his shoulder. "Shift around here, you stubborn jerk." Not five minutes later, Scorpius' head lay in my lap as he drifted off to sleep. Hopefully if anyone tried to get into our compartment, I'd have enough time to wake Scorpius up and remove the locking charm and could convince them the door had just stuck. As long as no Prefects came looking for us, we probably would get away with it.

I was true to my word as my left hand held open this year's Arithmancy book to the first chapter, and my right dropped to rest somewhere amidst the blonde's hair, rising occasionally to turn the page. I was calm and content with a vaguely interesting—though confounding—subject to occupy my mind with and my boyfriend's blonde locks to occupy my free hand. Once in a while I couldn't help but shoot a look to his face, where a contented smile rested in his sleep.

I wondered if he'd been worrying about his father all summer. Ever since the mysterious attack on Diagon Alley, Scorpius' father had been spending large parts of his day at the Ministry doing who knows what with who knows who. My own father was working double-time trying to hunt down the people who did it. Uncle George's shop had been repaired fairly quickly, as had Ollivander's, but it was a heck of a lot of damage.

Scorpius didn't like talking about his father with me, not since he'd learned that my family wouldn't speak of the man. I was intent on finding out exactly what was going on with that. Surely Scorpius' father couldn't be that bad of a man. Scorpius shifted in his sleep and I brushed a lock of his hair behind his left ear. It was calm. What is that saying about the calm before a storm? Oh yeah, the storm always follows.

We arrived at the station in Hogsmeade as the evening grew just long enough that people were taking notice of the night. As soon as we stopped, I found myself thankful that the three of us in the compartment had put our robes on before getting on the train. I shook Scorpius awake gently, not wanting to give him the impression that someone was at the door of the compartment which would require him to do some fast moving and fast acting.

"We're here," I told him, as he rubbed at his eyes. Standing up, I packed my book and his jacket into my trunk, giving him more time to sit there groggily. After disabling the charms on the door of the compartment, I nudged Lily awake none too softly. The trip to Hogwarts took the better part of eight hours. She'd slept more than enough. "Come on kiddo."

Scorpius and I left as soon as she stood up and put away the blanket. We managed to get into one of the horseless carriages toward the front. Eerie as it might seem, the steady movement of the carriage without the shape of an animal in front of it was actually really cool to me. I wouldn't have felt horrible if there had been an animal pulling the carriage but it would make me worry about what their life was like the other days of the year, where Hogwarts was keeping them, that sort of thing.

Lily joined us a moment later and sat down beside me on one side. Scorpius sat opposite of me so that he could look past me and at the road ahead. Now that he was awake, I could see the nerves in his eyes. A knot formed in my stomach and we fell uncharacteristically silent once more. Lily's eyes had begun to dart between the two of us worriedly.

"Are you two f—"

"No," we answered in unison. This seemed to quiet her worry not a bit. For my part, I worked to untie the knot with the mental image of Scorpius and I sitting in a class, waiting for it to begin and being able to openly act like we had feelings for each other. I entertained myself with the thought that maybe, just maybe, once this blew over, we'd be able to spend Christmas with each other. That would be something, wouldn't it? Finally I smiled up at him and lightly nudged his leg with my foot.

"You. Cheer up. It's going to be alright." The very words seemed to make it more real for him, as he visibly went slack for a moment, before seeming to gather himself. His shoulders set, his body poised and then wonder of wonders, his mouth formed into in a grin.

"Let's give them something to talk about, then." Lily was positively oozing curiosity, but her every question was ignored to the point where she proceeded to give the both of us something between a huff and a pout. When the carriages arrived at Hogwarts, Lily got out right off the bat, but Scorpius and I stayed behind, purposefully lagging. After most of the crowd had gone by and all we had now was the occasional stragglers, we both climbed out of the carriage.

Looking at Hogwarts from the end of the dirt path had always struck me as a grand moment. Today, it seemed foreboding. When Scorpius had shut the door of the carriage behind him, I looked back at him. Though I saw worry in his eyes, it was a relatively content look that settled on the familiar, vaguely sharp features of his face. This relaxed me more than I cared to admit. I took his right hand in my left and together the two of us set off after the crowd, most of which was already at the gates of the school.

The September air was vaguely cool, and judging by the way Scorpius' walked—stiffly—he was regretting not having his coat. Feeling bad about that, I released his hand and tossed an arm around his shoulders, drawing him close to my side. It wouldn't do _much_ to warm him up, but at least it wasn't the middle of winter. When we passed the gates of Hogwarts, he pulled away before seizing my hand.

"I don't want _any_ confusion," he said in explanation, smiling. "The sooner we get it out in the open, the better." I nodded, but opened my mouth to say something, my doubt welling up inside of me. "If anyone tries anything, you and I could hex them into next term," he added confidently. His eyes were suddenly fiercely alive. He had gained a bit more fire, a bit more surety.

I closed my mouth and drew a deep breath as we stepped into the entrance hall. The last of the group was already in the Great Hall, though the doors were still open, still awaiting the first years that would soon file in. With one last sideways look to his face, I nodded. The pair of us stepped through the doorway into the Great Hall, hand in hand.

The Great Hall is always noisy and distracted. Never is this truer than the first day of the year. As always, a soft glow of yellow descended from the enchanted ceiling. Dad says that back in his days at Hogwarts, the ceiling used to reflect or recreate a magical version of whatever weather was like outside: snowflakes that never hit the ground, and without most of the cold, rain that was not wet, cloudy skies, clear skies, fast moving clouds, that sort of thing. Apparently he broke the ceiling on the same day he ended the war, and no one remembered the enchantment or where to find it. That was too bad, because the clear night would have shown a big, bright moon. That would be perfect for the sorting ceremony.

As we entered the hall, we kept our eyes firmly secured on the Slytherin table, doing our best not to appear as if we were ignoring everyone else and to at the same time do exactly that. I could tell as we progressed toward the table that more and more people toward the ends of tables were beginning to notice us. The sounds of people talking started to gradually mix with the sound of whispering and muttering. It was not all encompassing, but Hogwarts didn't have enough students that I could expect the rest of the people to not have heard about this by morning.

The Slytherin table, however, as a whole had turned its collective eyes on us by the _moment _we got to the table. The Slytherins were the ones we were worried most about. There were bigots all up and down that table. The Gryffindors were next to worry about. Some of them were so self-absorbed that the phrase "live and let live" wouldn't work on them if they disagreed. The Ravenclaws probably had quite a few people who would mutter and talk about us, but not cause much trouble. We had come to expect very few problems from the Hufflepuff house. If the truth be told, we slept in the Slytherin house, ate with the Slytherins, and were indeed Slytherin, but most of our friends were Hufflepuffs.

"What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Daniel Corner asked as the two of us sat down toward the end of the table beside each other. Daniel was in our year, but he had plenty of older buddies, including the thickest Slytherin the house held, Goyle.

"What do you mean?" Scorpius asked, levelling a positively terrifying glare on Corner and the seventh year, Goyle. I did as we had long decided and let Scorpius handle them at first. Instead, I let my eyes wander over the staff table.

I spotted Hagrid, the gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures professor in conversation with the small and rapidly greying Charms professor, Professor Flitwick. I quickly imagined how Scorpius and I would sneak off to Hagrid's hut tomorrow evening. Uncle Ron had let slip that once upon a time, he, my aunt and my father used to do the same thing. They hid underneath an Invisibility Cloak that my father had never spoken about around me. I got the feeling there was something deep there, but it was too weird for me to dig.

Things with my father were getting bad. Sometimes I could hear him in his study, screaming at the top of his lungs, but at no one. The room would always be empty. I had no idea why, nor how it was getting past the sheer amount of charms he had on the room. Unfortunately, I couldn't even make out what he was saying. Sometimes, I think he might even be crying.

I shook the thought and continued examining the staff table even as the first years siphoned in. My eyes stopped on Headmistress McGonagall, who was rested on her large ornate chair calmly. As Professor Slughorn, a nearly completely bald and rather rotund man who was the Head of Slytherin house and the Deputy Headmaster placed the stool and sorting hat in front of the dais, my eyes came back to the Slytherin table, my ears back to the conversation at hand.

"Well," Scorpius was saying, "I'd think that was none of your business, Corner." His voice was sharp, snippy. I finally looked up. Most of the table was engaged in listening to this or muttering some sort of slur. It was much as we had expected it would be.

"Well, I don't want to sleep in the same room with a couple of dodgy faggots," Corner muttered, darkly. "In fact, I _won't_." A look met Daniel's face, as if he had just had a brilliant idea.

"If you would like to withdraw from the school, I'm sure you could just have your mummy write in," Scorpius shot back before he turned in his seat to watch the sorting, as if cutting off the conversation.

"Oh we'll see," Corner replied, now sounding smug. Smug enough to worry me, at least.

"We will," I interjected, making my face as impassive as possible. It was never very good. Scorpius just seemed hardwired to be able to cow some people with a glance. He was very beautiful when angry though, which is why it baffled me. I looked down the table and saw a couple of people on either side of Corner nudging him and whispering to him. More than one girl nearby was glaring at me sourly. I could tell they were all _really_ starting to notice what I'd noticed last term. Scorpius was a beautiful guy. The thought actually cheered me up, because he'd _chosen_ me.

I just hoped that never changed.

The sorting passed in record time, but it was still not fast enough. When it was over, the Headmistress stood up, spreading her hands out for silence. She surveyed the crowd as always as if she was overseeing a military operation. She was not without kindness, of course, but when she looked at us all, she was fierce in the eyes, as if determined. Her gaze lingered unnecessarily long over the Slytherin table. I hoped it wasn't about what Scorpius and I had done.

"Hello everyone. Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts. I hope you all had safe and fulfilling breaks. For our first years, I hope tonight begins a very successful journey for you, a journey into the world. I now would like to remind you of a few things. The Forbidden Forest is, as per usual, off limits outside of a class activity. There is to be no use of magic in the hallways between classes, and you are to be in your dormitories by curfew. Madame Pince bids me remind you that if you were one of the students contacted over the summer about a book checked out of the library and not returned, you have until the end of next week to return it." She gazed out over the muttering, inattentive crowd.

I was one of those people who were listening, if barely. I smiled over at a very nervous looking first year at the very end of the table. The First Years who settled into this table nervously were most usually suffering one of three issues. One, they didn't want to be Slytherin, two they weren't Pureblooded like Scorpius and were terrified of being bullied by their housemates, or three, they _knew _that Slytherin House had a bad reputation and were worried because they didn't have a lot of similar views the House usually was said to have.

The people who suffered the last issue were uncommon and almost instantly taken under the wing by myself or Scorpius. There'd only been two since I'd been at Hogwarts. I examined the new kid to my right, on the other side of Scorpius.

"I'm Albus," I said, extending my hand to shake his. He paused hesitantly, and then held his hand out to me.

"John Finch-Fletchley," he finally said.

"Careful, you don't wanna touch him," Daniel said, scathingly. "He's queer." John took my hand anyway, and shook briefly before withdrawing and seeming to wither under the glare of the older Slytherin.

"Now," McGonagall said as the moment passed. "Before we all get much more tired, how about a nice meal?" I waited, poised and mouthed the next words along with her as she spoke them, drawing a curious glance from John.

"Nitwit," she said, and as she continued, a chorus of voices joined her (including my own) saying it like a mantra. "Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" This was the point where her eyes usually slid closed and she stood in silence for a couple of seconds, as if in mourning. This sorting feast was no different. Several of the teachers did this. After the seconds passed, she nodded. "Enjoy."

I looked over to Scorpius, who smiled almost daringly as he began to load his plate up. He seemed convinced that we had won ourselves a little victory today. For the most part the table had turned to the food with a single-minded ferocity, so perhaps he was right. When the two of us had dug in, I sort of let my mind drift. Conversation with the rest of my table was usually out of the question for me anyway, much less now. After quite a while, I turned around and looked toward the Hufflepuff table, scanning for Zarry, or Leslie, or Rose or even Dean. Leslie and Rose were the only ones who were positioned on the other side of the table, allowing them to see me looking. Rose waved, perhaps a bit nervously. She was trying to keep me calm.

I looked next to Leslie. She was _smiling._

A wave of relief passed over me. That smile was like a promise that things would be okay. Leslie was probably my best friend at Hogwarts save Scorpius, and the only other person who I often corresponded with during the summer. I had warned her something big was going to happen, and I guess we hadn't disappointed. When a series of clattering dishes reached my ears, I turned back to the table.

Scorpius had lunged across the table, taking several of the dishes with him. His wand was out and before I knew it, he and Daniel had hit the floor on the other side of the table. Drawing attention without much trouble, the pair separated, rose to their feet and brought their wands around at each other. I didn't know who was the better duellist and I didn't intend to find out.

"Scorpius, stop," I said, standing up. Scorpius faltered for a second, which was all Daniel needed to hit him with the jelly-legs. The blonde sagged against the table, putting his elbow in a plate of mashed potatoes. His other hand was used to cast a stinging hex. That was as far as the impromptu duel got before the good-sized form of Professor Longbottom grabbed hold of him, and handed him off to the larger form of Hagrid. Glowering at Hagrid, Scorpius fought to get free.

"You asshole," he was yelling at Daniel, who was being restrained by Goyle and another student. "That could've killed him!" I blinked, not convinced he was talking about me and fairly confused. "Do that again and I'll hex your bollocks off."

"Tha's enough," Hagrid said, half coaxingly, half demandingly.

"Don't eat or drink _anything _else," Scorpius said as he looked at me over Hagrid's shoulder. "And let me go, I'll stop." Hagrid nodded, dropping Scorpius to his feet. It was at that point that the Headmistress came to a stop behind him.

"Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Corner, what is the meaning of this?" she inquired, scathingly, her voice impossibly naggy at the same time as commanding. It was a tone that I didn't value much, but it certainly went a long way toward making one uncomfortable.

"He put pumpkin juice into Albus' goblet," Scorpius said. "Everyone knows he's allergic to pumpkin. He nearly _died_ first year!"

"Is this true, Mr. Corner?" the Headmistress asked, clearly fit to burst.

"He's lying," the dirty-blonde boy exclaimed vehemently, jerking his arm free of Goyle's grasp. "I didn't do anything."

"Here," Scorpius said, leaning across the place where Daniel had sat, and picked up my glass. "Taste for yourself. I saw him do it when Albus wasn't looking."

"That's enough," the Headmistress finally said, not reaching out for the goblet in Scorpius' hand. "Mr. Corner, you'll have two weeks of detention with Professor Trelawney. Mr. Malfoy, you'll have two days of detention with _me_." No one was shocked that Daniel didn't complain about the time differences. There was a large difference between two days cleaning crystal balls, and two days doing lines. "Mr. Corner, proceed to the dungeons, I'll send along a Prefect with the password soon. Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter, I want to see you _both_ in my office, _now_." I controlled what may have been an audible gulp. "The password is Bumblebee. I'll be along soon."

"That's not right! He didn't _do _anything," Scorpius protested, gesturing to me. He was getting on a roll, and I knew I had to stop him as soon as I could. I opened my mouth to calm him, but the Headmistress spoke first.

"I said _now_. Or do you want to make it a week of detention?" I could tell she wouldn't back down at all, and I knew what would happen if I didn't stop him.

"Come on Scorpius," I said, standing up. "Don't make it any worse, _please. _I don't want you to have detention all week." The Malfoy heir looked torn between protesting and yelling and hexing Daniel again.

"Go on, all of yeh," Hagrid said, quietly, prodding Scorpius on the shoulder. The blonde's glare stayed levelled on Daniel until he had to turn away. I followed at his right shoulder, my left hand on said shoulder to make sure he knew I was right there with him. Or perhaps it was because to put it anywhere else on his right arm would invite a hand covered in food.

I grimaced, knowing all plans of sneaking down to see Hagrid were long gone. The two of us left the room without much stalling and we got to Professor McGonagall's office quickly, having half rushed in silence. When we gave the password, the stone gargoyle leapt aside in an unnecessarily explosive action, which caused me to jump.

I felt nervous. I'd never before gone to Professor McGonagall's office. I've been to Professor Slughorn's office tons of times. He delighted on inviting a large group of students who he thought exceptionally interesting to dinners, very often. Scorpius, James and I were part of that group. Teddy Lupin had been too when he was at school. James, Scorpius and I knew it was because of our families that we were invited. There was probably no other reason.

Professor McGonagall had never so much as had a chat with either of us before, though. The staircase spiralled up into the air with me and Scorpius on the bottom steps, me clutching the railing. When it drew to a stop at the top of the room we ascended and pushed open the door. I was instantly treated to the sight of a most curious sort of office. The walls were lined with portraits. That was the plainest thing about the room. There was a perch of some sort, as if for a bird that sat beside the desk. It was covered with dust and obviously unused. Paperwork piled the desk. As one ascended the steps into the room, there were books lining the walls that weren't covered by portraits. I knew from my father's stories that these portraits were the Heads of Hogwarts Past.

"Albus?" Scorpius whispered when we got inside and I didn't move toward the desk. I had something else in mind all of the sudden.

"Hold on," I told him. "I've… got to do this." You see, I had just realized that among the portraits here would be two people I wanted to know more about. My eyes came to rest on two portraits, which I moved toward. The occupants were gazing at us curiously, as were many others. These two were the two I wanted to speak to though. I stepped closer so that I could look at both of them.

In one was an elderly man with long white hair and a long white beard. He wore crescent moon glasses and had eyes behind it that were twinkling mischievously. He looked fit to burst with laughter, but he did not say anything. He only looked back at me. To the right of that was a painting of potentially the youngest man hanging. He had dark, tamed hair that looked almost a bit too oily. He was stationed in front of a cauldron that was emitting rolling steam, with a spoon on the table beside it. A large wooden chair rested behind him, though he stood.

The plates read, "Albus Dumbledore" and "Severus Snape" respectively. I licked my lips and glanced at each in turn. Dumbledore's face hadn't changed a bit, he was clearly amused about something but waiting for me to speak. Professor Snape looked a bit less good natured, though not angry. It was like he had been interrupted and was waiting for me to get it over with.

"Hello," I finally started. "I… I've really wanted to talk to you two in the past." Though neither replied quite yet, I continued. "I'm Albus Severus Potter." Professor Dumbledore let loose a chuckle as Scorpius came next to me. Professor Snape let a small, sardonic smile meet his face.

"That Potter boy," the man said, almost as if scolding someone. "I'll give you that he has himself a good sense of irony, I suppose."

"Al?" Scorpio asked, reaching out to put a hand on my shoulder, questioningly. He was confused.

"These are the people I was named after," I explained. "Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape."

"And you," Professor Dumbledore said, his eyes landing on Scorpius. The twinkle almost seemed to increase, though I didn't know if that was possible for a portrait. "Must be a Malfoy." Scorpius nodded, apprehensively. Professor Dumbledore gave another ironic laugh and then leaned back into his leather chair.

Professor Snape, on the other hand only added, "Perhaps it is fate that has the sense of irony after all."

"I must admit, I would never have believed it had I heard it, Severus." Professor Dumbledore said. "A Potter and a Malfoy being comfortable enough with each other that one can touch the other without a duel being involved, imagine that! Why, James and Lucius liked to have killed each other in the past, and Harry--"

The door to the room suddenly opened, and a voice interrupted him.

"Oh, there was a duel, Albus," the woman said. Professor McGonagall stood in the doorway as the pair of us turned around. She looked at me briefly and then at the portraits in front of me, and then shooed the both of us toward her desk with a mere glance. I moved over and took the seat on the left, Scorpius sitting down beside me in his food-splattered robes. When she sat down opposite of us, her gaze ferocious, I felt my insides melting.

"I cannot say I'm surprised," she finally said. "Eventually I just _knew _you'd end up in my office, the both of you. You being of Malfoy Blood, it was bound to happen that your temper would get the better of you. As for _you_, Mr. Potter… your uncles Fred and George were the best pranksters this school has seen since your grandfather and a handful and a half to boot. Your father was always in trouble and your mother hexed enough people in this school that there was a _bed_ we kept open just for her victims when people began noticing her irritation growing." She drew a breath.

"So I cannot say I'm surprised that this has occurred. After all, your brother James and Teddy Lupin ended up here in your brother's first year for trying to duel Gregory Goyle, and Ms. Lily Potter is already intimately familiar with my office." I looked at Scorpius, worried that she was building to some proclamation that would spell bad news for me. She seemed to gather herself, as if her mind was running three different ways at once. While many of the things she had said made me want to talk to Uncle Ron a little more about the past, I was also nervous about what she'd say next.

"But if you told me that the sons of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy would walk into the Great Hall clearly trying to announce a relationship to the world, I would have called you ludicrous." To my surprise, I heard a soft, almost sinister laughter emit from Severus Snape's portrait. "Quite," Professor McGonagall agreed with him. "This puts me in a most difficult position."

"The names Potter, Weasley and Malfoy have more history with this school than I care to _admit_. The Potter, Weasley and Malfoy families are three very old families, and since the end of the war, very powerful families. Your father, Scorpius, sits on the school board. I don't want to tell you how embarrassing it could be for these families and myself if meetings in my office become commonplace." She paused, as if she was waiting for this to sink in. I could tell by the way he showed no response that it either hadn't yet, or wouldn't at all. "Nonetheless, there is no room at Hogwarts for intolerance." A flutter of hope lit in me. "I will be writing your father, Scorpius, and Daniel Corner's father about today's incident. I will not, if it would be your wish, tell them the circumstances regarding it. However, with the whispering now spreading around the school, I suggest you both get on with it, and very soon. These things have a way of… backfiring." Scorpius nodded, as if he'd expected much of what she'd said.

"I'm sorry Professor but at the same time, I'm not. It could've really hurt him," Scorpius said, quietly. I bit my lip in response to the actual emotions in his voice. He really had been _scared_ for a moment there.

"I know," the Headmistress responded, seriously. "There are petty squabbles every day, jinxes, perhaps the occasional argument or once or twice a duel. However, this was the first _deliberate_ and _malevolent _attack of one student on another that Hogwarts has seen in twenty-one years." Professor McGonagall said this as if it was significant. Behind her, the portrait of Severus Snape sat down in his chair calmly, if not somewhat grimly. He refused to acknowledge my eyes on him. "Due to _special circumstances_ surrounding both students at the time, there were no suspensions, expulsions or anything of the sort back then. Rest assured though, that any serious attempt to cause pain or illness will be dealt with severely, no matter who is the guilty party. Am I clear?" her eyes were resting most insistently on Scorpius.

The blonde nodded, his mind clearly preoccupied. Mine was, too. I had noticed the way that Severus Snape had begun looking between Scorpius and I when the Headmistress had spoken of the last malevolent attack of one student on another. Paired with her earlier comments about our fathers, and Professor Dumbledore's comments about our families, it made me ask what I asked next.

"Professor McGonagall?"

"Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"What do you mean about our fathers? What did Professor Dumbledore mean when he was saying what he said earlier?" She frowned and then pursed her lips in a way that suggested it was a subject she was loath to speak about. Scorpius looked sideways at me, his eyes insistent that I drop the subject. It made him very uncomfortable to think about what I'd said in my letter over the summer, about my family not wanting to talk about his father.

"I daresay it's something you'll both need to know eventually, but I suggest you ask your _own_ families about that, perhaps after you've spoken to them about other matters." Scorpius looked relieved it had been left to that, and placed his hand on my arm, insistently. "Now, if there's nothing else, you can both go to your dormitory." Scorpius nodded.

"Thank you, Professor," he said, standing up. I could tell it was a mix of relief and and wariness. When I stood up, my gaze shifted to Professor Dumbledore's portrait. He matched eyes with me briefly before winking and then shutting his own eyes, as if to nap. One hand rested on top of a copy of the book, Hogwarts: A History. I couldn't help but wonder what he was _winking_ about.

"And Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy?" Scorpius turned back briefly. "The password is Silvere."

When we got into the common room, we were met with the sight of a group of Slytherins waiting for us at the stairs that lead down to the boys' dorms. Scorpius stiffened up almost upon the sight of them. Some of them were in our year, and others in the years above. One thing was true of all of them, none of them looked like they wanted to let us past.

"Where do you think you're going?" Goyle asked, glaring at the both of us. "Queers sleep in the common." Instantly, Scorpius seemed to get his hackles up. He put on the look of an angry and dangerous person.

"And who do you think you are to decide that?" he asked, coolly. There was that voice again. I still had no idea where he got that voice from. "Since when were you in charge here, Goyle?"

"Scorpius," I said quietly. "Maybe we should just… go with it." It wasn't that I was nervous, it was just that we couldn't afford anymore trouble right now, and I had begun to hatch a plan. I wouldn't mind if he and I could sleep on the couches down here so we could plan into the night without anyone overhearing.

I wasn't about to let this all go unanswered, after all. Someone had gotten my guy in trouble.

Scorpius finally sneered before raising his wand. "_Accio _trunks." A moment later, the door to our dorm flew open and our trunks came down the stairs at a surprising speed. The crowd parted hurriedly to avoid being hurt. They came to rest at the feet of one of the couches. Satisfied, the group departed bit by bit, until only Daniel remained.

"If you so much as try to come into the dorm, I'll hex you," he threatened.

"You couldn't hex your way out of a paper bag," I replied. Daniel put a smirk on his podgy face, a most self-appreciating smirk. He turned and left us standing alone in the Common.

"Why in the hell did you stop me?" Scorpius asked, rounding on me irritably. I waited until I could no longer hear Daniel's footsteps before answering. This was enough time to irritate Scorpius more.

"Because… I think we need to get revenge on them," I said, as if commenting on the weather, "and I'd rather us be able to plot in peace." Scorpius' face went to one of shock, and then he grinned.

"Now this, I like," he cried dramatically. I couldn't hide my smile.

"Go get a shower first. I'll get started."

When he was gone off to the showers, I sat down on the end of one couch, opening my trunk. I extracted from it a bit of parchment and a quill and inkwell, as well as my Arithmancy book. I began to write a letter to Gringotts, authorizing the purchase and delivery of a few items from my Uncle George's shop. The Weasley Wizarding Wheezes was the best joke shop out there. It could also be an incredible opportunity for pranksters that didn't have time or skills to do what needed to be done.

It was more about the _time_ for me. Between Scorpius, Rose, Leslie and I, we could've eventually figured out how to do some real damage. I dug into my trunk for an envelope, sealed it and addressed it, then stuck it into my trunk for safekeeping. I ripped off another long bit of parchment and began brainstorming for exactly _what_ I could do with the things I had just ordered.

If I was going to do this, I'd better do it right.

By the time Scorpius emerged from the shower, dry and in his pajamas, I was feeling positively devious. He sat down on the couch beside me, and I promptly handed him the parchment and book I had in my lap. I moved over to my trunk and dug out my pajamas. Without any curtains to draw around a bed, I didn't have even a bit of hesitation as I changed into them. (With as much time as the two of us had spent together it didn't quite matter if he saw me in my boxers. A bad prank from our housemates had exposed more than that of each of us to most of our Potions class.) As soon as I was settled back into a sitting position on the couch, he returned the paper to me.

"That's brilliant," he finally said, a grin settling on his face, making his eyes brighten up. "No one will ever let them live it down. I bet people will _tell stories _about this." I felt a fair bit embarrassed. He was leading me on!

"Come on, I thought it was good!"

"So did I," he said seriously. "I wasn't kidding. This is going to be great. It's going to be tricky as hell though." His face furled into a contemplating look. "Do you think your uncle will tip anyone off if he notices who the order's from?"

"Uncle George?" I asked, in disbelief. "I forget you've never met him. He _lives_ for stuff like this. I can't count the number of holidays where my mother or my Uncle Ron have walked away with singed eyebrows, blue hair or mistletoe growing out of their ears. And you heard what McGonagall said about him and Uncle Fred back in school. No way he'll rat us out if he figures it out."

"Oh, I don't think _anyone_ could figure that out," Scorpius said, amiably. "Not just from an order form." Albus nodded, feeling secure in the fact that his idea was at least vaguely original. "We just can't let anyone know we did it," the blonde finally continued. I frowned.

"Maybe we can let _them_ know we did it?" I asked hopefully. "No one will ever believe them if we say we didn't." Scorpius shrugged as if measuring the options, then finally answered.

"It _would_ be funnier that way." As with many decisions we often made together, that settled it.

~GCiST~

Harry leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes in irritation. He was getting nowhere on Auror Macmillian's report, or more precisely comprehending the purpose of this strangely long meeting with Draco Malfoy. Furthermore, the 'glaring anomaly' that Ernie had noted in the beginning of the report and verbally beforehand, was alluding him. The head Auror rubbed his temples next. He could feel the nerves building up inside of him, an almost insane urge to scream out his frustration and storm out of the office. Why couldn't Ernie write a report that was _flat out and blunt? _Why did the man have to be so damned pompous and extravagant? He noticed, though, a strange change in penmanship halfway through, as if the writer had grown rushed.

Ernie still had hours on his shift, as did Harry. It was ridiculous to assume he was rushing to meet a deadline. Taking the sudden clue, Harry started reading right above the change.

_After several minutes of retracing things spoken about at the last meeting, I inquired as to why the person of interest had come to us himself today. His response was, "I thought you could help me to make sense of something." Further inquiry on this line yielded no fruit. _

That was when it hit Harry what this anomaly might be. He'd read the line time and time again, but never actually contemplated it. Draco Malfoy was a far different man than he had been during the war. What happened in between, Harry would never want to know. However, there was one thing Draco Malfoy never did. He never asked for help. The only times Harry had ever heard him speak that word, it often came out to "I don't want your help," or "You can't help me!"

But now, Harry realized, as he reread the report, Malfoy used the phrase "Help me" in various ways at least three more times. And his parting statement with Ernie suddenly took on a meaning. _"It'd be dangerous to hurry back home." _This was an uncharacteristic, not to mention nonsensical statement. Clearly it was a reach, almost like a code. If Harry cut just a few words from these target sentences, the picture became clear. _Help me to make sense. Help me get things back to normal. Help me with my family situation. Help me get this over with. Dangerous back home. _

Harry nearly upended his desk jumping to his feet. Leaving the report on his desk he burst from his office, pushing the door open so hard it slammed into the other wall. The nearest people to him looked up, and the sound of people talking throughout that whole section of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement stopped. He looked up and was surprised to find all of his nerves, his discomfort, the screaming mania within him quiet. Some part of him was whispering in the back of his mind, _I'm back. _

"Aurors Macmillian, Drowse, Dawlish, Savage," he looked up and matched eyes with a redhead across the floor. The man's eyes were fiercely alive, as if he were unknowingly being whispered to with the same voice Harry was. "And Weasley." Ron stood up. "We're conducting a raid on Malfoy Manor, NOW!"

Ron had only joined the Aurors long enough to assist Harry and the Ministry in chasing down the remaining Death Eaters. Now that more than one had broken out of Azkaban, he had taken leave from the Weasley Wizarding Wheezes and taken up his old title. No one, not even Harry, knew if he'd be able to put it back away after this incident was done. Ron had always loved the idea of being an Auror.

"Why?" Dawlish asked, looking at his younger boss. The man was experienced, brilliant and used to following orders. Still, he had to ask once in a while. "Or more, on what grounds can we claim?"

"I have reason to believe Draco and Astoria Malfoy are being held captive in Malfoy Manor by a group of escaped prisoners from Azkaban." Ron was on the move as soon as he said that, coming to stand near Harry."We can't attack right off," Harry continued. "We'll have to stake it out. If we rush in right now, when they'll probably most suspect an attack, we could get the hostages killed." The standing Aurors shared a glance. That is, save for Ron, who hadn't taken his eyes off of Harry. "We're in for an all-nighter, boys, so you've got five minutes to owl your families, and meet me at Apparation point Alpha. If we see a window for getting in… then we'll get in."

"Harry," Ron muttered as the group diverged to write owls or prepare for the stakeout and possible fight thereafter. "I'll firecall Ginny and Hermione. You need to go and take your potions." Harry froze in spot, looking up at Ron with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm fine, Ron," he responded just as quietly, though not without a warning tone in his voice.

"Remember what happened last time? Harry, you couldn't duel your way out of a plastic bag like this," Ron replied.

"You may test that assumption at your convenience," Harry replied, turning away from the man. He and Ron had been best friends in school, and for quite a while after. Life, however, had recently left him little time for being close to anyone but his immediate family. Part of Harry thought that he and Ron were no longer close enough for Ron to mention _that. _Harry knew damned well that he wasn't stable without his medication. Harry sighed. _This is still Ron. _"And for your information, I took my potion an hour ago.

Harry took off. This was going to be rough.


	3. Chapter 2

******Chapter 2: I'll let Animosity Unwind**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Harry Potter, or most of the characters noted within this. Nor do I own anything related to the song God Called In Sick Today by AFI.**

* * *

For about the thirtieth time, he watched the front guardsman nod off, and signalled Ernie not to make a move. The manor was, as they had suspected, under heavy watch. However, morning had come. That meant that the changing of the guard was going to happen _eventually. _

That would be their moment, when enough noise would be going on in the building that they could get in without being noticed. As if listening to his thoughts, someone opened the front door. Harry reached over and laid his right hand, wand in it, across Ernie's shoulder. His left rose up and signed some quiet instructions before beginning a silent countdown.

3…

2…

1…

He rose to his feet and moved over the ridge with little more than a skip.

_Silencio, _he thought. The silencing spell shot across the open area quickly, and struck one man in the chest. A brother spell struck the half-sleeping guard in the stomach, both neutralizing any sound. Dawlish and Ron moved in unison, casting a pair of stunners. Harry stepped in with a simple _impedimenta_, stopping the door from closing, and both bodies from dropping. The group of six Aurors pushed on and into the manor, wands at the ready.

This was only the third time he had been to Malfoy Manor. The last time was six years ago, when he had arrived on the scene to find Lucius Malfoy under the wand of his son. It had been a hell of a scene. Whatever change had been wrought in Lucius Malfoy at the end of the war, whatever change it had been that had caused Harry to save he and his wife from Azkaban, seemed to have died with Narcissa. He could remember the sight of the crying child in the corner, with bruises in the shape of fingers around his neck.

Lucius had tried to strangle the child. In the Wizarding World, there were few crimes worse than being an aide to a Dark Lord. Attempting to murder a child was among them. Some pureblood legislations had still been in effect at that time, and pureblood law dictated that the parents of the abused child—should one or both of them not be involved in the abuse—had the right to dictate whether the guilty party was locked away for life, or executed. Draco Malfoy had asserted his right as the father of Scorpius Malfoy and had Lucius locked away for life.

_Unfortunately, his ministry failed him, _Harry thought as he crouched, moving down the hallway into the main foyer. There was no one in the room. A pair of footsteps, soft and quiet told him that Ron and Dawlish had joined the rest of the party after having successfully portkeyed the stunned escapees out of the area. Auror Proudfoot would have to take care of them.

Harry made a pointing gesture toward a door on his left, moving up against the wall. Next he indicated Ernie, and pointed to the other side of the doorframe. He directed Dawlish and Ron to a door opposite of it, and let Drowse and Savage watch the end of the hall.

"Three… two… one."

In unison, he and Ron blew their respective doors off the hinges, and Dawlish and Ernie rushed into the respective rooms.

"Clear," the calls came. 

Harry was suitably sure they'd given their presence away, and quickly ordered a regroup. The only remaining positions on that floor that could be used were the drawing room and the hidden area beneath it. Knowing Lucius, that was precisely where he'd find the man. Harry signalled forward and took off, not too shocked to see Ron taking position beside him. Ron knew where they were going or at least would have a clue.

The scene that he first saw was vaguely familiar when Harry entered the room. Only this time, it was Lucius who had his son pinned down, wand to his throat. Behind him stood almost twenty men. Astoria Malfoy lay against one wall, bound and gagged, and non-moving. Harry was about to fire a hex when he realized with a fright, that each of the twenty men behind Lucius was completely identical to the last.

"Hello, Potter," Lucius said, looking up at Harry. The eyes Harry had come to expect to see in the man's face were gone, replaced instead by two very familiar glowing red orbs. From Harry's studies, and the history of Lucius Malfoy, this could only mean one thing. "So nice of you to join us, oh just like old times."

Lucius Malfoy had at least one Horcrux out there.

~GCiST~

When I rounded the corner the morning of the first day of term, I heard all too familiar voices, neither of which belonged down in the dungeons. Lily's voice was first, and it was chiding. While I couldn't hear what she was saying, I knew she was upset. Looking to my right to Scorpius, I could see that he recognized her voice as well. James' voice was next. He sounded absolutely livid. I tensed up in fear.

Scorpius took my hand in his and resolutely pulled me toward the voices. Slowly but surely the words became clearer until I could finally hear what was being said.

"What in the hell makes you think you've got a right to say _anything_ about my brother?" James was audibly on edge. "I've heard you, you git, running your mouth already, aren't you?" Daniel Corner responded with something that I couldn't quite hear, but obviously it pissed my brother off because he responded with, "You no-good-inbred arse!"

We rounded the corner just in time to see the Gryffindors facing off against our fellow Slytherin. James had his wand out, and seemingly was blind to us being behind Daniel. Before he could cast, a third voice was added to the mix.

"James! Stop it this instant!" I froze as my cousin Domnique rounded the corner. Though a year younger than James, she was a Gryffindor prefect, something he was not. There were not many Potters or Weasleys outside of Gryffindor. In fact, truth be told, Rose and I were the only two. Lily was a Gryffindor, James was a Gryffindor, Hugo… Domnique, Roxxane… even Louis. Judging by the four smaller forms coming up behind Domnique, the whole family had come to stop James.

This wasn't as excessive a tactic as you might think, though. I knew it would take more than one Gryffindor prefect to calm James down in a mood like this. However, before the rest of the world could stumble upon this scene, it had to be stopped.

"James," I said. "Stop it." James looked past Daniel at me, lividly.

"You shut the hell up." I reacted a bit more than I care to admit, and Scorpius jumped into the situation.

"Get the hell out of here, Corner. This is between you and us, not the rest of them."

"Malfoy," Dominique started, ready to warn him against comments of the sort.

Daniel seemed to note when he was outnumbered. Looking between James and Scorpius he gathered all of his wits for what promised to be a scathing comment… but somehow it never came. Somewhere along the way it died and he just turned around and sidestepped by Scorpius. I sighed and freed my hand from Scorpius' as Daniel went off deeper into the dungeons.

This was a very uneasy situation for me though.

Hugo, Roxanne, Domnique and Rose stood behind James, who was glaring down the hallway at me as if he wanted to hex me. Lily was looking between James and me, terrified. I had to admit that I was scared too. Was this the moment he was going to denounce me? Would he tell me he hated me or that I brought the family shame, or even that I disgusted him?

"You should've let me hex the git," he finally said, visibly sagging as if the anger had drained from him and left only a half deflated version of my brother. "You should've let me hex him, all of you." I looked at my cousins and my siblings and then at Scorpius. Gathered all together were the most important people in my life. To my intense relief, not a single one of them seemed to be angry at me. Their expressions were almost too intense to try to read, but I did it anyway.

Rose was, now that Daniel was gone, looking as if she was bursting with questions. This was more than a little awkward. Hugo, for his part, was not showing anything concrete on his face but rather puzzlement. James' eyes were conflicted, almost shadowed. Roxanne was looking detached from the situation. Of course, she was sort of self-absorbed, so it wasn't all that unlikely that she didn't care too much either way so long as no one was getting hexed.

Lily was, to my surprise, looking as if she was proud of me. Domnique's look wasn't much different. It made me so embarrassed that I felt the Weasley Red creep up my face. Looking back to Scorpius, I nodded briefly as if to tell him that I thought everything was okay.

"Don't tell anyone from the family," I told them. "Scorpius and I want to tell them… when we're ready. This… this was a test."

"A test of what?" Dominique asked, guardedly. Her arms had suddenly been crossed across her chest apprehensively. The reddish-blonde girl of partial Veela descent was quite suddenly looking half dangerous. It was a side effect of her mother's blood, one that we all expected Roxanne to develop soon enough.

"A test of whether you all were going to stand by us," Scorpius replied. "I was really worried about what would happen to Al if people… well let's just say I don't have much in the way of family to worry about. I mean, that's not true… just… not close family." I had to admit I knew what Scorpius was talking about, and it was almost a touchy subject.

Anyone of Pureblood descent who went to Hogwarts had a fair chance of being related to other people of Pureblood descent. In all technicality, I and my siblings and many of my cousins were 'Pureblood.' My father was a Half-blood though, so I didn't understand how that was supposed to work. The point was that if you looked around certain family trees, as I had… one could find themselves biologically connected to just about anyone they could expect. In my case… on my mother's side I was connected with Scorpius on his father's side. I think he's technically my fourth cousin once removed or something equally as crazy. As soon as he made the comment, I could see this clicking in the heads of some of the others.

"Guess what I called Corner was a bit rash," James mumbled, and there was that Weasley Red again, taking over my face. Rose and Lily seemed to match eyes exasperatedly at my embarrassment, and James' reluctance to actually match eyes with me.

"We'll stand by you, Al," Lily said. "You know I always will."

"Me too," Rose added, as if it was an afterthought. "Same goes for you Scorpius." Dominique and Hugo nodded their agreement, and finally James spoke up.

"If you matter to my brother," he said quietly as he finally lifted his head, "you matter to me." Scorpius, for his part, grinned at this.

"Tell me, was it hard to be nice to a Slytherin?" the blonde asked my brother, faux innocence lacing his voice and the question.

"Don't push your luck, Malfoy," James shot back, but not without a grin.

I laughed.

"Right," I said, stifling a further chuckle as I shifted the strap of the bag hanging from my shoulder. "Any qualms about walking into breakfast with a pair of queers?"

"None," Lily said. "I've done it more than once," she finished fatalistically, as if taking a great risk in the action.

"Wait," James asked, holding up a hand when Scorpius and I started moving to catch up. As we paused he turned on Lily, scolding. "How long have you known, exactly?"

"Since I caught Al kissing Scorpius at the end of last year."

"And you didn't tell your dear big brother?" James asked, his hand over his heart in ersatz hurt. "I'm injured, Lily."

"I'll just bet," Dominique replied, half scathingly.

This time, even Scorpius sniggered.

~GCiST~

Harry stood still, holding a hand up to bring his Aurors to a halt. Ron froze beside him, his eyes rapidly examining the crowd of apparent clones. Harry wondered if they were decoys. Still, he had a far more pressing thing to take care of than the sight of sneering, greasy-haired men who had yet to speak.

"Lucius," he started, quietly, as he readied himself. "We should talk this out."

"No," Lucius said. "You'll listen. I will talk. Now that my plan has reached fruition, I rather fancy letting someone else in on all of it. Someone like you is all the better, considering how integral you were!" He chuckled. "In fact, I owe you so _much, _Potter."

Harry frowned and lowered his left hand, his wand still at chest level, pointing at Lucius. Lucius, for his part, still had a wand to his silent son's throat. Draco Malfoy was trying to speak, but seemed to have been robbed of his voice. What spell had done it, only time would tell. That is, if any of them had time left.

"When that deplorable half-blood first started gaining followers, a man named Dolohov joined him. Over seventy years ago at Hogwarts, he was just a scheming little brat, polluting the noble house of Salazar." Lucius brought his wand lower, pressing it now against his son's heart. "Dolohov knew Riddle for what he was, a stain. But he reluctantly saw Riddle's brilliance, charm, he saw Riddle's ascension to power happening before anyone else, and from the beginning he plotted to overthrow him. As the years passed, his son became a Death Eater and part of this plot as well. Early in my service, _I _discovered it. To say that old man Dolohov was angry when he found every single note he had taken, every single scroll he had filled, every single idea he had noted missing, well that would be an understatement."

Harry leaned back slightly, wondering now if Lucius was bluffing.

"And the things he knew about the Dark Lord! I knew I had to be careful if I was going to take up his plans. When he fell to you, a half-blood infant, I was both elated and angry. True, he was now out of the way, but I no longer had a study subject." He chuckled. "And imagine my joy when he rose again, this half-blood masquerading as something more." Draco squirmed beneath the wand point, only to feel it jabbed in deeper. "So I learned all I could about the events of those thirteen years of silence… and everything he failed at, I succeeded."

The head of the Aurors shot a look to Ron, who matched it in a mutual understanding that Lucius Malfoy, whatever he was, was a deadly foe.

"And then came the moment of joy. He had, thanks to you two and your mudblood friend, failed to achieve the next step to immortality. The Sorcerer's Stone. He could have brought himself to a body and still would've had enough of one left to study it, and create one of his own. Shortly after he was foiled, the creators of the stone destroyed it and passed away. Once he was strong again, he ordered me to find their eldest descendant and interrogate the man, torture him, extract his memory, bit by bit by bit if need be. And I did exactly that. It took me the better part of a year to break him, this noble man. But he was little more than a Squib. No exceptional magical abilities. Nothing that could touch anyone in this room.

"Then, continuing my role as I always had, I took the information for myself. Under the influence of my Imperius, he bit his own tongue off and died. My 'lord' tortured me most severely for that, for having failed him again. I was, despite being one of his most powerful servants, his least successful. Somehow, he kept trusting me for years. So many times, I came close to getting the secrets to beating him, overthrowing him. In your attempt to escape him, you stopped me time and time again, Potter." Lucius placed his boot on Draco's chest and pressed down, now straightening into a standing position.

"Then the final key came. While guarding a spot the Dark Lord considered of high importance, I saw something most peculiar. An old man and a young man appearing out of thin air on a rock amidst a wild sea…. Hidden as I was, I followed them into a cave… a cave with a lake." Harry unfroze at that moment, old feelings awakening within him. "What do you think I learned there? Oh yes, yes indeed. The Horcrux." He touched to the left of his left eye with his hand. "The reason for Riddle's eyes and for his near immortality. His body was stalwart from all of the twisted changes he had wrought on himself, but eventually old age would have taken it. We would have all been dead and the world changed, but he would have died.

"Not me, not now." Lucius looked up. "It is time the world has a Lord who is worth more than a child. Everywhere Riddle failed, I have succeeded. I have the formula for the Philosopher's Stone. I have hidden my Horcrux in a place where no one could ever hope to find it. I? I've killed Harry Potter." Lucius' wand rose suddenly and the jet of green light signifying a killing curse shot free. Harry felt himself pushed to the ground, and a larger form landing on top of him.

Harry didn't have to look up to realize that Ron had just saved his life… again. Reaching deep into his mind, Harry chose a spell and went with it. It was one that had saved his life time and time again in this situation. A child's spell.

"Stupefy!" This spell that many people had expressed disbelief in time and time again, came out and maybe even would have struck Lucius Malfoy, had it not been for one of the men in the back shooting forward at an intense speed. The spell struck him in the chest, and he slumped forward. Lucius looked up, grinning wildly.

"Well, well. Some things never change, do they Potter?" Harry glanced down at Draco on the floor. The blonde man had managed to pull out his wand.

"You're right," Harry said, waving his wand at Lucius. "They never do."

"_Confringo!_"The younger Malfoy yelled, his wand letting loose a blast of energy that pushed the incipient Dark Lord off of him. Draco rose to his feet long enough to rush to his wife. The men in the back of the room had all remained, save for that one who had intercepted the curse, still and silent. Up until then.

"Out of the room," Harry yelled. "All of you, go, go, go!" Harry seized the unresponsive Ron and shoved the redhead out of the room. He just managed to get the Malfoys who were not currently fighting to their feet out of the room when he heard Lucius scream.

"GET THEM!"

Harry backed up until he was technically out of the room and pointed his wand to the ground, drawing a line from doorjamb to doorjam in mid air.

"_Parvus._" Harry nodded as the youthful Age Line solidified on the ground, happy to note that time and time again, the man charged to the door and still he couldn't cross into the room they were in. No one over five years of age could. Backing the group up further, Harry readied himself for an onslaught of spells fired.

"An age line, Potter?" Lucius asked, finally reaching his feet. "You truly think an Age Line would stop me?"

"No," Harry replied, backing the group up further. The Aurors behind him as a whole put themselves between Lucius and the Malfoy couple. "I did, however, think it would stop your friends."

"Joshua cannot bypass it, this is true." Harry didn't let his confusion show. "All the same, I could." Harry dropped down into a crouch, wand at the ready. "But I won't. My whole reason for coming here was simple, Potter. Lure you in. The people who inhabit this building are blood traitors. This building itself holds no meaning to me. When I have taken my rightful place, I will reclaim it, destroy it, and kill everyone within it."

Draco Malfoy gave a strange cry from behind Savage, somewhere between anger and helplessness. Harry thought he might be injured.

"Until then, my dear son, enjoy your pretty little family." Harry was about to strike out with a spell when Lucius snapped his fingers imperiously. The forms of these identical men began to blur and shift, not as if the man was walking, but moving, floating, being. Finally, there was solely one person. That's when it hit Harry that this was Joshua. "It's time, Joshua, the others are waiting."

Lucius Malfoy's pawn turned, his hungry blue eyes lingering on Harry.

"I hope you remember the Golden Twins," Joshua said, speaking quietly. "I look forward to inflicting that particular curse upon you and your family, many many times before Lord Malfoy kills you." Joshua turned away and gave his Lord a deferring bow. Two simultaneous cracks of Apparation erupted, before the group was left alone in the manor.

Harry turned and physically parted the crowd of Aurors. What he saw when they moved aside made him look away, his stomach doing a flip. Draco Malfoy was on the ground, cradling his wife to his chest. She was not moving though her eyes were wide open. That detail was something he hadn't noticed earlier when she was against the wall. Her lips and skin were beginning to go blue and swell. Her heart and breathing had clearly stopped.

Astoria Malfoy was dead… and it hadn't been the result of a killing curse.

~GCiST~

I'd always thought that when someone you love died, you'd feel it somehow. Beside me, as we walked hand in hand, Scorpius never saw it coming. As for me, I was in seventh heaven, cloud nine, on top of the world! There's something horribly gratifying about walking alongside almost everyone in your daily life who matters. As we walked into the Great Hall for breakfast, Scorpius and I said our goodbyes to the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. After breaking off for the Slytherin table, we were left for a minute to talk alone.

"So?" Scorpius asked. When I looked at him curiously, he finally added, "Did you remember the order form?" Pushing dark bangs back from my eyes, I matched eyes with him, as if daring him to ask such a stupid question again. Before we reached the table, I nudged him with the bag over my shoulder.

"What do you take me for?" I asked. "It's in my bag. We can go up to the Owlery during lunch." When I turned back toward the table, I noted that something strange was happening. Scorpius reached out a hand to my shoulder and stopped me. He shook his head when I looked at him.

I turned back to the table and resisted making a rude gesture. Whenever one would find a seat that didn't hold a person, there was a bag or someone's leg stretched out over it. In essence, the table had just outlawed us. Corner looked up from the other side, grinning and tilting his head as if to say, _what's next? _

I turned around, fully intent on walking out of the Great Hall before my wand found itself cursing him. Waiting, when I turned around, was James, a few paces away. Without a single word, he pointed at us, and then at the Gryffindor table. The message was clear. I turned my head toward the dais that held the staff table. Professor McGonagall was not moving, not showing any response, but watching me. I gave her the most significant look I could, unclenched a fist I hadn't known I was clenching.

Leading Scorpius by the hand toward the Gryffindors, I was pleasently surprised by what I saw. While there were more than one or two people at our end of the table who refused to look us in the eye—and who know if it was because we were queer or because we were Slytherin—for the most part, people looked sympathetic. A pair of seats opposite of James opened up as Rose and Hugo moved over. I figured I ought to thank them as we sat down, but Scorpius beat me to it.

"Thank you, everyone," he said, sweeping his eyes over the Gryffindors around us who seemed not to mind acknowledging our presence.

"You'll be sitting here for now," James said. "We won't do something like that to anyone." As I looked into the deep brown eyes in my brother's head, I noticed a serious lack of the mirth one could often see in them. He was seriously annoyed. I just hoped that annoyance didn't turn on Scorpius and me at any point.

"So," Lily said. "How come you never told me you were planning something like this?" She looked and sounded only a little hurt. Truly she had been our only confidant and had done well at that. We'd spent the last half of the school year and summer in relative silence about it, save for when we corresponded with Lily.

"Look, I just—" I was cut off. Colliding quite suddenly with Scorpius' shoulder, I looked up to find a Hufflepuff brunette from my year grinning down at us as she squeezed us both in a hug. Leslie gave first Scorpius and then me a peck on the cheek.

"I'm so proud of you two," she said. "It's about damned time you get on with it." Behind her stood Zarry and Dean who were apparently just on their way to the Hufflepuff table.

"Come again?" Scorpius asked, after shrugging her arm off his shoulder and turning in his seat. "Get on with it?"

"Oh come on! We've known for ages, haven't we?" Leslie replied, turning on Dean Thomas. Dean smiled a smile that was somewhere between apologetic and sheepish as he his nodded agreement. "Did you think you were that sneaky, my pet Scorpion?" To my right, Lily began laughing. James followed suit. They seemed to like the nickname Leslie had given him.

"First," Scorpius said. "Bull. We were careful."

"Think what you will," she replied, almost whimsically, toying with a lock of her hair, looking disinterested in his reply. "You always will."

"Second," he said, speaking over her, "You _know_ I hate when you call me that."

"I think it's cute," Zarry added, in what one could only describe as a dreamy voice. That girl hadn't changed since we were kids. Just like her mother, Zarry Lovegood was _weird. _That's why I liked her, I guess.

"And third," he continued, looking across the table at the still chuckling James, before looking back at Leslie. "No one does that to Albus but me." Before I could stop him, he had leaned over and put his lips against my cheeks just briefly. James began a disproportionately loud gagging.

"Cute," Leslie said, looking up from examining her nails, "he's jealous, Dean." The boy behind her backed held up his hands.

"I'm not getting in on this one. Whenever Scorpius gets revenge on you, I get caught in the crossfire," the boy's eyes shifted to me. "You saw it, I didn't do _anything. _I'm going to get breakfast before they hand out schedules." I waved a goodbye, taking a sip of my orange juice. I was obviously using the goblet as an excuse not to speak. I was afraid I'd turn the colour of an apple if I tried.

At least James had shut up finally. Just when I was expecting things to calm down, Leslie leaned forward, wrapping her arms around me from behind.

"Don't worry about you and I, Al. It'll be our secret, whenever he turns away."

"I have _no clue_ what you're talking about," I replied.

"Seriously though," Scorpius broke in. "There's no way you knew before last night." Leslie got off of me, with an innocent smile on her face as she brought a finger to her lips, as if contemplating.

"Are you sure about that, handsome prince?" I turned bright red, eyes widening before I turned around in my seat.

"You!"

"Yes?"

"You…"

"Go on?"

"You spied on us," I said, pointing at the pair of them. "That night when we told you we were going down to Hagrid's, you followed us!" Zarry nodded, her face completely unreadable. Leslie only continued to look innocent. She was rather short, and on occasion could pass for someone younger than fourteen. She liked to play the innocent little girl routine. She knew better than to try it on me, but did it anyway.

"You made so much noise about us not following you… we sort of had to." I rested my face in my hands, groaning into them.

"Oh, just go away." Hearing Lily's laugh, I felt even more embarrassed. We really had been that obvious to them. I didn't dare look at what Scorpius' face looked like right now.

_"You're like some sort of handsome prince," I said, looking up at the stars. The moon was bright, full and large. I knew wherever he was; Teddy was probably looking up at it. Ever since he'd found out his father had been a werewolf, he'd had a sort of macabre fascination with the full moon and wolves. Still, my thoughts didn't linger long on Teddy as I lay back in the grass. _

_"Really?" Scorpius asked, sitting up and looking out over the lake. "That's incredibly cheesy, Al." I sat up beside him and rested my arms across my bent leg. The reflection of the night sky in the water was somehow more interesting than the real thing. "But thank you." He threw an arm across my shoulder and hugged me tight, causing more than a little embarrassment. _

"I'll see you in a class, I'm sure," Leslie Davies said. That was the end of it, mercifully. I glared at her in contemplation of how _I _was going to get revenge on her. Sure, it wouldn't be as grand as what Corner and Goyle had coming, but she couldn't get away with spying on us without a little bit of revenge. Lily poked me in the shoulder.

"Slughorn's coming," she told me, and I turned to look. He was coming down the row rifling through a stack of papers, though two were held on the bottom of the stack. I suspected he had grabbed my schedule and Scorpius' from the Slytherin pile. It was confirmed when, after Lily had her schedule, he shifted his hands and came up with the two separated pieces.

I took mine and immediately my eyes dropped to the schedule. I found myself grimacing more than a little at the thought of Arithmancy before lunch. As I prepared to talk to Scorpius about it, a hand came down on my shoulder. Looking up, I saw the Headmistress. Now, I wasn't completely sure about what was coming, but I wasn't sure I liked it.

Still, I, like Scorpius, had no idea.

"Sorry to interrupt you Mr. Potter, but Mr. Malfoy… I think you need to come to my office," her face was not the usual hard mask she wore if she were getting onto someone. It was decidedly _less_ somehow. It also made my stomach flip. Maybe it was that, or it was the people standing behind her. Standing behind my Headmistress were my father and Scorpius'. I glared across the table at James, who held up his hands in innocence. Lily gave me the same look. Neither of them knew what was going on. Dad looked at me curiously.

Scorpius, on my other side, was looking absolutely terrified. Following his gaze to the blonde man's face, I knew why. Draco Malfoy was visibly grief stricken. This was bad news of some sort, and there was no way I was going to leave him to hear it alone.

"I'm coming with you," I said, standing up.

"Albus," my father started, as if about to dissuade me of the idea.

"No," whispered Scorpius' father. "I daresay my son will want his friend." Dad turned his green eyes on the blonde, and the three adults stood in silence for several seconds before Scorpius stood up, looking absolutely lost.

"What's happened?" he asked his father. "Why are you looking at me like that?" I stood up beside him, and Dad motioned me down the isle between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables. When Scorpius didn't follow me, his father stepped forward, tossed an arm around his shoulders and began walking, forcing Scorpius to fall or go with him. Whatever plans had been made in relation to waiting until they got into the office were pretty solidly followed.

During the whole trip, Scorpius didn't look at me, at his father, at the Headmistress or at my father. I can't imagine what was going through his head, and I don't even want to. It didn't take us long, however, to get inside. And once Scorpius was settled into a chair, me behind it, Draco Malfoy spoke.

"Your grandfather Malfoy was among the people who broke out of Azkaban a couple of months ago," the blonde said, rubbing his eyes. I looked at Scorpius questioningly. He wouldn't match my eyes. I'd never heard a thing about his grandfather. Why had he been in Azkaban? My father's look silenced any thought I had entertained about questioning the room in general.

"The moment we left you at the platform and came back home, he and a couple of other people came into the manor… and I tried to get rid of them. Eventually, I went to the Ministry for help. When I attempted to fight him off myself… one of his partners…" I suddenly knew where this was going. I knew who was missing from this picture. "Your mother... she was just… the Healers tried to restart her heart, Scorpius." Scorpius grew rigid in front of me.

"It was all my fault. I didn't trust that the aurors would understand the hints I dropped. I… I didn't think. I'm so sorry, Scorpius." I stood in complete silence, watching the back of Scorpius' blonde head. For a moment nothing happened and then finally he seemed to sink farther into the chair. "They came in… they did everything they could to save your mother and I, and the Minister sent the best Healers from St. Mungos. But the spell that killed her… well, no one's ever seen it before, no one in Mungos at least."

I looked at my dad and that's when I realized he must have been there. There was some history between he and Scorpius' father, and he was the Head Auror, and these were the people he had been tracking down. I realized also, with a pang, that he looked ashamed of himself, and exhausted. I moved around to my boyfriend's side, mostly so that I could see if he was alright. He was staring at the ground, blank in the face.

"Scorpius," I said, in a whisper. I had no idea what I was planning to say next, so I let it trail off into silence.

"Come on," Draco said. "You're going to take some time off from school." Quite suddenly, Scorpius was on his feet.

"No," he said, defiantly. "I can't!"

"Why not?" the man asked, he was clearly exasperated. I knew somehow, that even in his grief, Scorpius was thinking of me.

"I… I'll fall behind in classes. I can't afford it," he countered. Professor McGonagall's face didn't visibly change, but I figured she was smart enough to realize what was actually going on. Apparently my face showed something strange, because my father was instantly alert, watching me like a hawk. Now, I can't blame him. I was no James, but I've been known to make my fair share of trouble before. If he thought we were up to something, he probably was completely justified in doing so. Never mind that technically we _were_ up to something.

"Then bring your books home… I'm keeping you at my side until… the funeral. I can't… please Scorpius?" Scorpius again sort of sagged.

"Alright."

"I'll get your stuff from the common," I told him, trying to sound both comforting and not suspicious to our fathers. This was definitely not the time for them to find out their sons were queer, and in my case, occasionally eccentrically so. "You stay here."

"The Common?" my father asked, now interested. I realized my folly a little too late to fix it. "Why would his trunk be in the Common Room?" I looked up from Scorpius, and I knew as his green eyes bored into my own that he was trying his 'dad' trick on me. Trying to figure out what was happening by reading clues on my face. This actually made me happy, believe it or not. He hadn't tried to do that to one of us in a while.

"No reason," I lied.

"The rest of the House backed Daniel Corner," Scorpius explained. "We don't sleep near them anymore. The couches in the Common are nice enough." He wasn't giving away any secrets, and was completely telling the truth. I was proud.

"What are you talking about?" Draco asked.

"You didn't get the owl?" Scorpius returned. When his father shook his head, Scorpius shrugged as if saying it wasn't important.

"I see," Dad muttered. He looked at McGonagall, who shared a glance with him that I couldn't interpret. "Well, if you're going to get his trunk for him, you better get on with it. I'm here to talk to you and Professor McGonagall afterward." I figured he wanted to talk about the pumpkin juice bit and was just being a concerned parent.

"Well, alright," I said.

"Could I ask a favour of you, Minerva?" the Malfoy patriarch asked. "Could I convince you to send his stuff along to the manor? We need to go visit Astoria's parents."

"Of course," she replied, suddenly very kindly. "It's no problem. I'll send a House Elf to get everything instead."

"Well then, that eliminates sending Albus off to get it," Dad added, sounding suddenly satisfied. He was convinced I was up to something now. Mom usually turned a blind eye when she got an inkling like that, but not Dad.

"Come on, Scorpius," Draco said, rising to his feet. "Let's go home." Scorpius looked up at me, conflicted. He was both worried about me and sad at the same time.

"I'll write you," I promised. When he nodded at me, mustering a half-smile, I moved aside. Draco Malfoy put a hand on Scorpius' shoulder and lead him from the room. Scorpius walked away without looking back. When I turned back to look at the Headmistress, my eyes instead caught the portrait of Albus Dumbledore, who was watching sombrely.

"So," Dad said. "I know a few things from the letter your mother told your uncle about over the firecall. Why don't you explain things to me, Al?" I looked up at him. He was standing there in front of me, arms crossed. Dad was expecting the full story and I refused to give it.

"While I wasn't paying attention, Daniel Corner slipped pumpkin juice into my goblet. Scorpius saw it, and the two of them got into a fight over it. When we were done in the Headmistress' office, most of Slytherin House was waiting to tell us we weren't sleeping in the dorms. We didn't want a fight… so we just went with it." I sat down in the chair at Professor McGonagall's gesture toward it. My father didn't seem to be done.

"Why did Daniel do that?" he asked me. "What possibly could make him want to do that?"

"I dunno," I said. "Scorpius and I spend more time with Hufflepuffs than we do Slytherins any day, I guess they just dislike us."

"I see," Dad said, narrowing his eyes for a moment, before standing up straight and then letting his face relax. "Albus? Is there anything you want to tell me? Anything at all?" Suddenly terrified that he had found out, I almost spilled on the spot. My heartbeat picked up. Nerves fluttered through me… I wasn't supposed to have to do this without Scorpius.

Professor Dumbledore was laughing almost silently from his portrait. I wanted to take that to be a good thing, but I still had no idea what it could mean. So, I said the first thing I could think of.

"Just that I want to go to the funeral," I said. "If there's any way it can be arranged. I met Scorpius' mother once on the platform before last year. She was very nice and he loved her a lot." Dad nodded, as if to say he would see about it. In that moment there were suddenly plenty of other things I wanted to tell him. I wanted to tell him I was gay and I was scared he and Mum wouldn't understand. I wanted to tell him I could hear him some nights, in his study, sounding almost as if he was going insane. I wanted to tell him that I was tired of people knowing things when I didn't, that I hated the fact that everyone but me seemed to be tuned into how things were.

Most of all I wanted to tell him how much I loved him and that I was scared for him. But when he prepared to say his goodbyes and walked past me toward the door, the only thing that came out of my mouth as I stood up and turned around was one of the last things on my mind.

"Professor Dumbledore's portrait said your father and Scorpius' grandfather used to hate each other, nearly killed each other. And people keep dropping hints that you and Mr. Malfoy were a lot like that too. Do you two hate each other?" Dad paused, his back still to me. He turned slowly. "Why does no one in the family want to talk about him? Why does everyone try to look _through _Scorpius when we run into him on the platform?" I finally released my final question. "Am I letting you down by being friends with him?"

Dad's face transformed rapidly three times. First there was a dejected sort of resignation, then a look of being completely uncomfortable, and then finally surprise. Professor McGonagall didn't say anything, but sat behind her desk quietly, observing. Dad covered the steps between us in a few brief moments. For one crazy moment, I thought he was going to strike me. He was moving so determinedly, so purposefully, I thought he might be angry.

When he hugged me, I wasn't even embarrassed. It was the first time he'd had physical contact with anyone but mom in a while. I hugged him back, half amazed and half relieved not to feel tears building up, though there was a lump in my throat.

"I… could never be more proud of you than I am now, Albus," he said, as soon as he pulled back. "You're not aware just how much I love you… and it makes me think I've failed." I felt guilt bubbling inside me. "I love you, kiddo. You aren't letting me down at all."

"Thanks," I managed, in something barely above a whisper. I felt surprisingly at ease. Whatever was going on with him, he was still my dad. I hugged him again, tightly for just a second. "Thank you."

"As for the rest of it," Dad said, now stepping back a step. I didn't know how to feel about that action. "Now's not the time. But I'm going to make sure it's worked on." With that incredibly cryptic statement, he moved backward toward the door, resting his hand on the knob. "All I'm going to say, is that sometimes in war, even the winner feels guilty... no matter how often everyone tells him he did what was right."

He turned the doorknob and disappeared out onto the staircase. I watched until the door was shut and I heard the sound of the staircase descending. Then I was completely unsure about what I should do next.

"Mr. Potter," the Headmistress started, "I must say, you're quite like your father, usually. But some times, you are so like your mother." I didn't know what to say to that, I didn't know what to say to anything in that moment. "Classes start soon." I hefted my bag up from behind the chair Scorpius had sat in, unable to find a response still. I looked at her, feeling confused and relatively conflicted.

"I couldn't tell him in the end," I said. "I thought everyone said my parents were brave, Headmistress." When she couldn't answer, I turned. Again, my eyes landed on Dumbledore's portrait, where he was now pretending to read _Hogwarts: A History _with exaggerated interest. Not one to try to figure out what was going on when I was upset; I turned and walked out of the room, not even bothering to turn back when I heard her response.

"There are different types of bravery, Mr. Potter."


End file.
